Master’s Compassion and Mercy Reaches By Africa Relief Team (Originally in English) In October and November last year, several countries in Africa were devastated by widespread floods. In response to the emergency needs of the people, Supreme Master Ching Hai lovingly provided US$37,500 in total to assist the relief efforts carried out by our African Association members.
Benin Relief
The Benin flood in October 2010 impacted about 360,000 people. Many became homeless in need of food assistance and the children were at increased risk of water-borne diseases and malaria. The town of Avrankou was not spared, as several of its nearby villages had been affected including Male, Tanzoun and Gbakpo. Master offered US$7,500 to meet the urgent needs of the people. On November 17, our Benin Association members went to Avrankou to deliver rice, vegetable oil and salt, and to convey Master’s loving concern. They were graciously welcomed by the town mayor, Mr. Georg S. Nounagnon, who sent Master a thank you letter, expressing “sincere and profound thanks” on behalf of himself and his people.
Angola Relief 
Days of torrential rains deluged seven provinces of Angola in mid-October 2010, where over 525 families were evacuated and nearly 800 homes including many structures were destroyed. Moreover, at least 18 people perished and 20 were injured across the country.
Expressing Her heartfelt condolences and prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai contributed US$15,000 in aid. After learning from the regional government that Moxico Province was the most seriously affected, our Association members from Cameroon arranged to fly into the capital city, Luena, on December 29. The provincial commander of the National Commission for Civil Protection of Moxico Province, Mr. Roque, received them at the airport and quickly arranged a meeting with Governor Joao Ernesto Dos Santos to coordinate the relief effort.
Our relief team purchased 283 bags of rice. In addition to arranging trucks to transport the grain, the governor himself also contributed 17 bags of rice. Everything was distributed in Luacano and Cazombe. While visiting Cazombe, the team also handed out 2,500 SOS flyers to the local residents. They were very happy to see that many had already become vegetarian and that some churches were making an effort to promote this Earth-saving diet nationwide. Let’s pray that such disasters are curbed as humanity more gently regards the delicate balance of our ecosphere.
Ghana Relief 
On November 1, 2010, a devastating flood caused widespread inundation in the Gonja area of Northern Ghana, where more than 700,000 people had been displaced and hundreds of homes and farms were destroyed after a long period of unusually heavy rains. Ghanaian Minister of the Interior, Mr. Martin Amidu, declared a national disaster with an appeal for international help.
Supreme Master Ching Hai quickly offered US$15,000 in aid and our Association members from Togo, Benin and the local Accra Center prepared all the required items, according to the list provided by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Ghana, such as polymats, soap, clothes, rice, cooking oil and sugar. On January 31, 2011, everything was presented to the government officials at NADMO, who expressed their gratitude to Master and our Association for this act of kindness. The next day, with the assistance from the National Director of NADMO, Ms Helen Ntoso, our relief team distributed everything along with SOS flyers in Agbozume, Nogokpo and Klikor communities in Ketu South District in the Volta Region of Ghana. The relief effort was covered by the local newspaper.
On behalf of all the recipients, Mr. Asomaning Odei-Mensah,
Chief Disaster Control Officer of NADMO, wrote a thank you letter
to Master, saying, “Your kind gesture would indeed go a long
way to mitigate the suffering of the disaster victims who are in need
of such items. We also acknowledge your efforts for the joint distribution
of the items to the affected people. We do sincerely appreciate your
support, and we hope that the good relationship established between
our organizations will continue to flourish in the service of humanity.”
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
